Board of Directors

The Board of Directors is made up of elected officials—mayors, city councilmembers, and county supervisors—from the region’s 18 city councils and the County Board of Supervisors. As the governing body of the agency, the Board carries out various responsibilities mandated by the agency’s designations and sets agency direction, revises policies, and discusses priorities for budget resources.

Representatives from Imperial County, California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) District 11, the U.S. Department of Defense, Port of San Diego, San Diego County Water Authority, San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS), San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, North County Transit District (NCTD), Southern California Tribal Chairmen’s Association, Mexico, and the Association of Planning Groups serve on the Board as non-voting advisory members.

To help SANDAG address key public policy and funding responsibilities, the Board has delegated certain responsibilities to six Policy Advisory Committees (PACs) that are focused on distinct issue areas. All items delegated to the PACs are subject to Board ratification.

Board Meetings

The Board of Directors generally meets at 10 a.m. every second Friday of the month for approximately two hours and at 9 a.m. every fourth Friday of the month for approximately three hours. Meetings provide a public forum for policy decision-making on significant regional issues such as growth, transportation, environmental management, housing, open space, air quality, energy, fiscal management, economic development, and criminal justice.

Staff contact: Clerk of the Board, clerkoftheboard@sandag.org

Membership as of January 23, 2025

Chair
Hon. Lesa Heebner

First Vice Chair
Hon. Joe LaCava

Second Vice Chair
Hon. John Minto

(A)=alternate

City of Carlsbad
Hon. Kevin Shin, Councilmember
(A) Hon. Priya Bhat-Patel, Mayor Pro Tem
(A) Keith Blackburn, Mayor

City of Chula Vista
Hon. Carolina Chavez, Deputy Mayor
(A) Hon. Cesar Fernandez, Councilmember
(A) Hon. Michael Inzunza, Councilmember

City of Coronado
Hon. John Duncan, Mayor
(A) Hon. Carrie Downey, Councilmember
(A) Hon. Mark Fleming, Councilmember
(A) Hon. Amy Steward, Councilmember

City of Del Mar
Hon. Terry Gaasterland, Mayor
(A) Hon. Tracy Martinez, Deputy Mayor
(A) Hon. John Spelich, Councilmember

City of El Cajon
Hon. Bill Wells, Mayor
(A) Hon. Steve Goble, Councilmember

City of Encinitas
Hon. Bruce Ehlers, Mayor
(A) Hon. Marco San Antonio, Councilmember
(A) Hon. Joy Lyndes, Deputy Mayor

City of Escondido
Hon. Dane White, Mayor
(A) Hon. Judy Fitzgerald, Councilmember
(A) Hon. Joe Garcia, Councilmember

City of Imperial Beach
Hon. Jack Fisher, Councilmember
(A) Hon. Mitch McKay, Councilmember
(A) Hon. Matthew Leyba-Gonzalez, Councilmember

City of La Mesa
Hon. Mark Arapostathis, Mayor
(A) Hon. Lauren Cazares, Councilmember
(A) Hon. Laura Lothian, Councilmember

City of Lemon Grove
Hon. Alysson Snow, Mayor
(A) Hon. Jennifer Mendoza, Mayor Pro Tem
(A) Hon. Jessyka Heredia, Councilmember

City of National City
Hon. Luz Molina, Councilmember
(A) Hon. Ron Morrison, Mayor
(A) Hon. Ditas Yamane, Councilmember

City of Oceanside
Hon. Esther Sanchez, Mayor
(A) Hon. Eric Joyce, Councilmember
(A) Hon. Jimmy Figueroa, Councilmember

City of Poway
Hon. Steve Vaus, Mayor
(A) Hon. Peter De Hoff, Councilmember
(A) Hon. Christopher Pikus, Councilmember

City of San Diego
Hon. Todd Gloria, Mayor
(A) Hon. Kent Lee, Councilmember
(A) Hon. Marni Von Wilpert, Councilmember

Hon. Joe LaCava, Council President
(A) Hon. Vivian Moreno, Councilmember
(A) Hon. Sean Elo-Rivera, Councilmember

City of San Marcos
Hon. Rebecca Jones, Mayor
(A) Hon. Ed Musgrove, Councilmember
(A) Hon. Mike Sannella, Councilmember

City of Santee
Hon. John Minto, Mayor
(A) Hon. Laura Koval, Councilmember
(A) Hon. Ronn Hall, Councilmember

City of Solana Beach
Hon. Lesa Heebner, Mayor
(A) Hon. David A. Zito, Councilmember
(A) Hon. Jewel Edson, Councilmember

City of Vista
Hon. Katie Melendez, Deputy Mayor
(A) Hon. Dan O’Donnell, Councilmember
(A) Hon. John Franklin, Mayor

County of San Diego
Vacant
Hon. Joel Anderson, Supervisor
(A) Hon. Terra Lawson-Remer Supervisor
(A) Hon. Monica Montgomery Steppe, Supervisor

(A)=alternate

Imperial County
Jesus Eduardo Escobar, Supervisor Imperial County
(A) Vacant

California Department of Transportation
Ann Fox, Executive District 11 Director
(A) Everett Townsend, Deputy District Director
(A) Roy Abboud, Supervising Transportation Planner

Metropolitan Transit System
Hon. Matthew Leyba-Gonzalez
(A) Hon. Patricia Dillard
(A) Hon. Ronn Hall

North County Transit District
Hon. Jewel Edson
(A) Hon. Priya Bhat-Patel
(A) Hon. Mike Sannella

U.S. Department of Defense
Dennis Keck, Navy Region Southwest Executive Director
(A) Anna Shepherd, Navy Region Southwest
(A) Muska Laiq, Navy Region Southwest

Port of San Diego
Dan Malcolm, Commissioner
(A) Job Nelson

San Diego County Water Authority
Hon. Joy Lyndes
(A) Joel Scalzitti
(A) Valentine Macedo, Jr.

San Diego County Regional Airport Authority
Gil Cabrera, Chair
(A) James Sly, Board member

Southern California Tribal Chairmen’s Association
Hon. Cody Martinez, Chairman, Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation
Hon. Erica Pinto, Chairwoman, Jamul Indian Village of California

Mexico
Hon. Alicia Kerber-Palma, Cónsul General of Mexico
(A) Hon. Gilberto Luna, Deputy Cónsul General of Mexico

Association of Planning Groups
Hon. Robin Joy Maxson
(A) Hon. Eileen Delaney

Board Voting

A majority of the 19 member agencies constitutes a quorum for the transaction of business. Most matters are decided by a simple tally vote, where each of the Board members present has one vote. After a tally vote, two Board members may call for a weighted vote (unless otherwise required by law). The weighted vote procedure requires the vote of at least four Board members representing separate member agencies and at least 51 percent of the total weighted vote. When these requirements are met, the weighted vote supersedes the tally vote. Additionally, electing the Chair and First Vice Chair of the Board requires the use of the weighted vote procedure.

Pursuant to Public Utilities Code Section 132351.2, each agency must have at least one vote, there are no fractional votes, and no agency may have more than 50 votes. The weighted vote distribution must equal 100 votes in total. Each spring, it is calculated based on California Department of Finance population figures each year.

  • Carlsbad: 3
  • Chula Vista: 8
  • Coronado: 1
  • County of San Diego: 15
  • Del Mar: 1
  • El Cajon: 3
  • Encinitas: 2
  • Escondido: 4
  • Imperial Beach: 1
  • La Mesa: 2
  • Lemon Grove: 1
  • National City: 2
  • Oceanside: 5
  • Poway: 1
  • San Diego: 42
  • San Marcos: 3
  • Santee: 2
  • Solana Beach: 1
  • Vista: 3

Resources